Today, the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) released seven deep-dive assessments of clean energy manufacturing supply chains, reviewing the obstacles to a reliable supply of key materials and components and opportunities for improvement. Each of the seven assessments focuses on a different technology or resource that will help the Biden Administration achieve its goal of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. 

“The transition to a clean energy economy cannot proceed without a steady supply of the materials and components required to manufacture clean energy products,” said Kelly Speakes-Backman, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for EERE.  “The assessments released today highlight the wealth of opportunities that will come with domestic supply-chain expansion, including new jobs, new manufacturing infrastructure, and faster, cheaper deployment of clean energy technologies.” 

Reliance on foreign sources for the procurement and processing of clean energy technologies is both a supply chain vulnerability and an impediment to the growth of the American manufacturing workforce. The seven EERE assessments provide an overview of the supply chain for their respective technologies—identifying challenges and opportunities for domestic expansion.  

For example, the wind energy assessment identifies a lack of specialized ports and vessels as a vulnerability in the offshore wind energy supply chain. Port and vessel development would lead to the construction of new manufacturing facilities to supply offshore wind components, create jobs and opportunities for American maritime industries, and help developers of offshore wind projects avoid delays. 

The assessment on semiconductors cites advanced packaging for semiconductors as a major opportunity for the American industrial sector, which could leverage this country’s world-class design capabilities to benefit from the rapidly increasing global demand for this product.  

The assessment on water electrolyzers and fuel cells notes that decarbonization could lead to increased demand for hydrogen. Greater domestic manufacturing of electrolyzers and fuel cells, combined with technology development, hydrogen transport and storage infrastructure, and additional grid capacity, could help grow the electrolytic hydrogen market to meet future demand. 

The technologies and resources covered in the seven deep-dive assessments include: 

EERE’s Solar Energy Technologies Office, Wind Energy Technologies Office, Water Power Technologies Office, Hydrogen and Fuel Cells Technologies Office, and Advanced Manufacturing Office contributed to the development of the reports. To learn more about the full series of supply chain reports released today, read the DOE press release. 

EERE’s mission is to accelerate the research, development, demonstration, and deployment of technologies and solutions to equitably transition America to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions economy-wide by no later than 2050, and ensure the clean energy economy benefits all Americans, creating good paying jobs for the American people—especially workers and communities impacted by the energy transition and those historically underserved by the energy system and overburdened by pollution.